ScinoPharm: expanding scope, more products in pipeline, says CEO
While the company’s overall revenue decreased by 3.5% in 2015 compared to 2014, its net profits were up 30% at $20.0m, “due to more shipments on high margin products,” explained CEO Yung-Fa Chen at an investor meeting held on February 18th.
According to the company, the decrease in overall revenue can be attributed to unfavorable sales volumes of its anti-depressant and anti-obesity drugs, which affected its contract manufacturing revenues and growth. However, oncology APIs remain the company’s “sweet spot” and are in high demands.
“The US/EU accounts for more than 70% of our sales,” explained Chen. “Some emerging markets, like JP/China/India, will increase gradually in the near future.”
Additionally, the company’s facility in Changshu and marketing base in Shanghai will be “growth drivers in next few years,” said Chen.
The Changshu site passed US FDA inspection in Oct. 2015 and the company expects CFDA will complete its inspection in 2019. As part of the company’s long-term strategy, the facility will support the joint development of specialty generic formulations.
The company also announced plans to expand its current contract research and manufacturing services business by “acquiring projects from many different and varied pharmaceutical developers worldwide in order to create greater business potential.”
“As we are executing a Double A strategy (API+ANDA) in the transition from an API company to downstream formulation as a full scope pharmaceutical company, we expect more and more products will be launched,” added Chen.
“We have developed dossiers per our difficult-to-make API to increase value propositions in the supply chain. We also focus on innovative delivery formulations in targeted delivery and extended release of proven APIs via 505b2 fast track. Apart from organic growth, we also aim to acquire critical resources via M&A.”
In the pipeline
ScinoPharm expects to launch its first injectable oncology product in the US market at the end of this year. The product is the result of a joint venture with SAGENT.
The company is also in discussions about obtaining exclusive marketing rights for its anti-coagulant product, Fondaparinux, for which it filed an ANDA for last August.
In 2016, ScinoPharm expects to launch six APIs in the US, Canada, and Australia, with indications for cancer, hepatitis B, anti-hypnotic, prostate hypertrophy and polyuria.
